Glad Tidings For 64

By JOE LAPOINTE

Published: March 12, 1990

College basketball's troubled season turned toward its traditional upbeat conclusion yesterday when the pairings for the 64 teams of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's basketball tournament were announced in a national telecast from Kansas City, Mo.

The tournament is not only an athletic competition, but also a lucrative television mini-series, with evolving plots, emerging stars, big prize money and huge audiences viewing through the video looking glass.

Connecticut, Oklahoma, Michigan State and Nevada-Las Vegas are the top-seeded teams in the four regions of the tournament, which concludes in prime time in Denver on Monday, April 2, on CBS.

A Tarnished Season

This season has been tainted by tragedy and charges of deceit: the death of a star player who had collapsed after a slam dunk; accusations of point-shaving at North Carolina State, and a highly publicized book that details alleged abuses in the greedy recruitment underground.

But the sport survives and thrives. Across the country today, conversations at the water coolers and coffee machines will be, no doubt, not about what is wrong with this big show, but about what might go right for favorite schools in the next three weeks and which team from the Final 64 will emerge as No. 1.

One sentimental choice might be Loyola Marymount, the regular-season champion of the West Coast Conference. Loyola accepted a bid when the league's post-season tournament was canceled after Hank Gathers, Loyola's high-scoring star, collapsed in a semifinal game and died later.

Gathers's teammates, who will attend his funeral today in Philadelphia, open against New Mexico State on Friday in the West Regional in Long Beach, Calif.

Timing Dismays a Coach

Michigan, last season's surprise champion, is seeded third in the West and will face Illinois State, also at Long Beach.

Michigan State, which won the Big Ten title yesterday with a victory over Purdue, is seeded first in the Southeast and will face Murray State in Knoxville, Tenn., on Thursday.

Jud Heathcote, coach of the Spar-tans (26-5), said he was disappointed that his team would open Thursday instead of Friday during an exam week. ''Our kids are weary,'' he said. The Big Ten is sending seven schools to the tournament, the most ever of any conference. The Big East is sending six, the Atlantic Coast five, the Big 8 four and the Pacific-10 four.

The only independent school in the tournament - and a surprise selection to some - was Notre Dame, seeded 10th in the Southeast despite a 16-12 record. Not included among the 34 at-large selections was DePaul (18-14), another Midwestern Catholic independent, which beat Notre Dame twice.

Schedule Strength Cited

''I don't know what they thought,'' said Joey Meyer, coach of DePaul. ''It doesn't make sense to me.'' At Notre Dame, Coach Digger Phelps said, ''I think the strength of our schedule was the best thing we did with our program this year.''

Notre Dame upset then-No. 1 Missouri on March 3.

Teams earn an estimated $286,500 for one appearance, the N.C.A.A. said. Those reaching the Final Four get an estimated $1,432,500.

North Carolina, which faces Southwest Missouri State at Austin, Tex., in the Midwest, will make its 17th consecutive N.C.A.A. tournament appearance, a record.

Also in the Midwest, Princeton, the Ivy League champion, will meet Arkansas in Austin on Thursday. Princeton, a huge underdog, nearly beat Georgetown in the first round last year.

Kansas, the 1988 champion and currently ranked second in the news-agency polls, missed last year's tournament because of probation, but returns this year in the East regional and opens against Robert Morris.

Sixteen teams with 20 or more victories were left out, including Southern Illinois (26-7), Holy Cross (24-5) and Hawaii (23-9). Seton Hall, last year's runner-up, is missing in inaction with a record of 12-16.

Tubbs Assesses the Field

Oklahoma (26-4) is ranked No. 1 in the news-agency polls. The Sooners will open in the Midwest regional against Towson State.

''We're in the toughest region, no question about that,'' said Billy Tubbs, the Oklahoma coach.

Nevada-Las Vegas (29-5), No. 3 in the polls, opens against Arkansas-Little Rock in the West in Salt Lake City.

The other top-seeded team, Connecticut, takes its 28-5 record against Boston University in the East in Hartford. Of all teams, Connecticut has the closest to a home-court advantage. If the Huskies win two games in Hartford, they move nearby to East Rutherford, N.J.

''It's 95 feet by 45 with 10-foot hoops,'' said Jim Calhoun, the Connecticut coach. ''We'll see what happens.''